“Popping into neutral would cause the engine to over RPM, and potentially destroy the engine - turning the ignition off simply shuts the engine down ... something that is inherently obvious to me.”
If you’re supposedly in fear for you life because your car is out of control, why would you be concerned about hurting the engine? In any case, all modern cars have, at the very least, rev limiters which will prevent the engine from over-revving.
I think the story smells. I’m wondering if it will come out later that he’s just trying to capitalize on Toyota problems.